Chance Meeting
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: After Atobe's graduation, Kabaji is alone. This is when someone runs into him. Shounen ai KabaDan.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: This pairing, while cracky, is claiming far too big a part of my brain functions.

Note my unimaginativeness when it comes to titles.

* * *

Chance Meetings  


Chapter 1

It should not, Kabaji thought, have been so difficult to be without Atobe. After all, it wasn't like he was dependant on the older boy or anything. It was just, well… Atobe had always been there. Ever since he could remember, he'd always followed Atobe around. He'd even left England to finish his primary school in Japan as Atobe moved to attend Hyoutei middle school. On top of that, the Hyoutei middle school and high school were situated fairly close, so before their age difference hadn't presented any difficulties, either. Aside from classes, where was Atobe, there was Kabaji.

Now, however, Atobe was in high school. Which was not so close to the middle school. And Kabaji was kind of lost.

The lunch break was the worst. The short breaks between classes he could just sit in the class room and pretend Atobe's class was simply too far away for him to go there, but lunch always shattered that image. He'd always eaten lunch with Atobe, always. Even when it required sneaking out of the designated school area.

Now, he was eating alone. And it was surprisingly lonely.

He didn't really have any other friends, nor did he even properly know anyone, not outside the tennis regulars. And the regulars were mostly gone now, graduated along with their captain, save for Hiyoshi and Ohtori. Hiyoshi didn't seem like friend material, not the kind of friend material Kabaji wanted, anyway, while Ohtori had plenty of friends of his own. None of the new regulars seemed interesting enough to get to know them, and some even seemed scared of him. Scared of him. Sure, he was big and perhaps intimidating, but really, a gentler soul would be hard to find.

Nevertheless, gentle soul or not, Kabaji was alone. He tried to ignore this, to concentrate on his school work instead – after all, it was his final year of middle school – but that didn't help. He tried working harder on his tennis, but that didn't help either.

No one seemed to notice anything wrong as he was silent – after all, he was always silent, he was Kabaji and Kabaji was always silent. Kabaji didn't speak, he just went and won matches (except against Tezuka, of course). As long as he did this, everyone was happy with him, especially captain Hiyoshi who could always count on his Singles Three. There was no cause to worry about him. And he didn't want anyone to worry, really, it wasn't like they had any real cause to concern themselves over him. It was just… well.

He needed a friend, that much was clear. But how? He wasn't used to making friends, didn't know the usual procedure. All these years he had assumed he simply had no particular need for social interaction, only to now realize Atobe had always fulfilled that need.

This was the reason Kabaji now found himself walking down the street, aimlessly seeking for something, anything, to take up his attention. He knew not where he was going; after all, there was no Atobe to tell him the destination, now. School was over, as was tennis practice; the only place he could think of going to was home, and he didn't want to go home just yet.

Just about to arrive at a corner, wondering whether he should turn or cross the street and continue forward, Kabaji suddenly ran into someone. Or, rather, someone ran into him. Literally.

Kabaji was big, and the other person was quite small, he noted; therefore, instead of toppling Kabaji over, the other person only managed to send themselves flying backwards. They would have fallen down on the ground if not for Kabaji's hand grasping on a small wrist, holding them up. For such a large person, Kabaji had fairly good reflexes – he wouldn't have been much good at tennis otherwise, after all.

Now that he had time to think about the situation, Kabaji realized there was a pair of big, brown eyes blinking up at him. Then, a slight flush spread over the person's little face as they realized the situation as well. Hurrying to regain their – his, Kabaji realized, or thought he realized; he really could not be entirely sure, here – balance, the other person started a somewhat stumbled apology.

"I – I'm sorry desu! I should have watched where I was going desu! Thank you for catching me, you really –" Suddenly, there was another blink, one of realization instead of confusion this time. "Ah… are you Kabaji Munehiro-san?"

Now, it was Kabaji's turn to blink. People rarely recognized him, not when he wasn't in company of the rest of the tennis club. At the very least, even if someone did recognize him, they never acknowledged him; he was probably too uninteresting without the rest of the team, and especially Atobe. This was the first time he could recall that someone outside classroom recognized him as himself and not as an accessory of Atobe's.

It was, he decided, not necessarily an unpleasant experience.

"Usu," he replied, for how else could he have responded? To his great surprise, the other person's face lit up at this answer. It was like a light had literally appeared behind the chocolate eyes.

"Wow, it really is you!" the small boy exclaimed. "You are such a great player, I wish I could be like you desu! Is it true you can imitate any technique you see? That must be amazing desu!"

Kabaji could hardly believe his ears. What was this? He wasn't the one to be admired, he'd never been. He was, after all, just that – an imitator. He could never be as good as the people whose techniques he stole.

"…Usu," he finally answered, nevertheless. Then, as he felt this required a clarification, as he did not feel himself to be that amazing, he added, "I can imitate pretty much anything."

"Ooh, that's so amazing! And you're so big and strong, too!" Was that a sparkle he saw in those big eyes? "I wish I'll get to play against you some time, even though I'll surely lose desu!"

"Oh?" Why was finding words so difficult? …Oh, yes, because he hardly ever spoke. "You play tennis, too?"

"Yes, I do desu!" A headband the boy was wearing slipped down, only to be pushed back up automatically. He obviously was quite used to it. "Dan Taichi, Yamabuki second year! Please excuse my rudeness, I really should have introduced myself right away desu! I just got so excited and… well… yeah desu." He grinned somewhat sheepishly. "I'm usually Yamabuki's Singles Three desu. Considering you're usually in the same position in your own team's line-up, the chances for us playing against each other are pretty high." The boy seemed very excited at this thought.

"…Dan-kun, is it?" Kabaji looked at the boy more carefully, now, trying to see past the brown eyes, however much those seemed to demand his attention. Dark, bluish hair, small and slightly built, clad in a white school uniform. All in all, Dan seemed almost the exact opposite of himself. "I… guess we may." After a pause, he added, "Play against each other, that is."

"I'm already looking forward to that desu!" The little boy's grin got even brighter. Then, suddenly, he seemed startled. "Oh, no, I forgot I'm late desu! Ah, well, I must go now. Sorry again for running into you like that desu!" And with this and a cheerful little wave, Dan was already away.

Kabaji looked at the retreating white figure for a long while, until Dan finally faded out of sight.

He was, somewhat surprisingly, also looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Chance Meetings  


Chapter 2

Even though the idea of meeting Dan-again kun was pleasant for some obscure reason (though Kabaji was fairly confident it had something to do with not being so alone) he hadn't expected it to happen before their teams faced each other in a tournament, whenever that was. Most certainly he had not expected it to happen mere days after their first meeting, as another random encounter on the streets.

Expected or not, it wasn't full three days since first meeting the boy that he again met Dan. This time, they didn't run into each other quite as literally as before; instead, Dan spotted him from far away, a happy voice calling out his name.

"Kabaji-san!" Dan shouted, practically skipping closer to Kabaji. He looked exactly like when they first met, except that he was carrying a notebook this time. "What a surprise to meet you again like this desu! Are you doing anything in particular?"

What could you say to such a question when all you were doing was wander around aimlessly to forget just how lonely you were? Kabaji, for his part, merely shook his head, looking down at Dan in wonder. Was he really always this energetic?

"Great desu!" Dan grinned. "Um, I mean, if you aren't doing anything special, would you mind accompanying me? I'm going to the street courts," a nod of the blue head indicated the racquet bag he was carrying, "and it's just not as much fun to be there alone desu!"

Kabaji's decision was not a difficult one. He was still carrying his own bag from club practice, not having gone home yet, and it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He could either agree and spend some more time with Dan-kun – or continue his lonely walk until he finally decided to head home.

Even if he hadn't had any such reasons, the bright smile on Dan's face as he muttered an, "Usu," would have been enough of one.

Kabaji followed the apparently somewhat bouncy smaller boy, wondering where he got all his energy. Not that being energetic was a bad thing, oh no; it quite reminded him of an awake Jirou, in a way. However, for some reason, Dan's energy seemed somewhat… cuter? Yes, he did believe cute was the right word in this case.

The street courts weren't that far, though Kabaji couldn't help but think that he wouldn't have minded if the way had been a little longer yet. As they got there, though, Dan sighed in disappointment.

"So many people desu!" he exclaimed. "There aren't usually this many players here, not at the singles courts at least. It'll take ages to get to play!"

Kabaji glanced around, seeing the gathered people. Then, suddenly, a thought came to his mind. "Ah… Dan-kun?" As the little boy turned to look up at him, eyes shining, he continued, "Do you play doubles?"

"Huh?" Blinking, Dan looked towards the doubles court. Indeed, there were significantly less people there. "I… I have played, but only a little in practice desu… what about you, Kabaji-san?"

Kabaji nodded. "Usu." He had, after all, played doubles even in official tournaments – not too often, or against very skilled opponents, but then the opponents around here would hardly be at a national level, either.

"Great desu!" The grin on Dan's face could have rivalled the sun. "What do you say, should we try that instead?"

Kabaji nodded again. "Usu."

"Okay desu!" And, with no more warning than this, Kabaji found his hand being pulled at rather insistently as the little boy hurried towards the court. While it was quite obvious that simply standing still would have made Dan's attempts at moving him futile, Kabaji found himself walking rather briskly instead, matching the smaller boy's pace.

Playing Doubles with someone you barely knew, as Kabaji was well aware, was anything but easy. However, if your opponents weren't too skilled, it was possible to win simply with Singles skills. Which was, at first, exactly what they did.

Dan-kun was a good player, Kabaji soon noted. He could trust the smaller boy to take care of the net play, staying at the baseline himself. It worked well enough as long as their opponents weren't too good for the Singles tactics.

The first time they actually came across a good couple, Kabaji first thought they would lose.

It wasn't pessimism or anything, just basic realism. He didn't know Dan-kun well enough to read any signs, and even if he had, he doubted the younger boy even knew how to use sign play effectively, being almost exclusively a Singles player. And true enough, after three games, they were losing three games to love.

This was when Dan smiled.

"Ah, Kabaji-san," he said. "I think I have them down now desu."

For a moment, Kabaji was confused. Then, however, he remembered the notebook in Dan-kun's hands earlier. Even in Kabaji's somewhat limited experience of such things, notebooks indicated a very specific type of player.

Data players generally gave good instructions. And following instructions was what Kabaji did best – depending on who was giving them, anyway. And he was definitely willing to follow Dan-kun's.

Go left, step right, it's out, Kabaji-san – this, he could do. Soon enough he noted Dan-kun making small gestures with each shout – whether on purpose or force of habit, he knew not, but he had always been good at learning. When he reached a ball just in time simply due to interpreting right the way Dan-kun nodded his head, he knew they were going to win.

It wasn't sign play, not really, it was more of Kabaji following instructions, that and him learning his little partner's playing style instead of that of their opponents. By the time they walked off the courts for a break, he mostly knew what he had to do in any given situation. It might not be good enough against skilled Doubles pairings in actual tournaments, but they had beaten all the lower-ranked actual couples they faced on the street courts.

Dan-kun was smiling at him.

Kabaji wasn't entirely surprised when he heard himself agreeing to another visit to the street courts sometime soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own very little.

* * *

Chance Meetings  


Chapter 3

Soon enough the matches at the street courts became a frequent occurrence. Despite the occasional availability of the singles courts, more often than not they opted for the doubles instead, their combination getting better and better with the experience they gained. It wasn't a wonder they soon spent time together outside the courts as well, talking – well, Dan did most of the talking, but still – and eating ice-cream and, given that they were both tennis players, practising. Kabaji found he quite enjoyed this time spent with his new little friend. 

It was one time they were eating ice cream, Kabaji slowly enjoying his plain vanilla as Dan licked at his spoonful of some overly sweet flavour, that he was finally forced to think about exactly why he enjoyed it as.

"You know, Kabaji-san," Dan suddenly said thoughtfully, looking down at his half-eaten ice cream, "I used to have this senpai I really liked desu."

"Oh?" Kabaji looked at Dan. Why was the younger boy telling him this? Sure, they were friends, but…

"I absolutely adored him from the moment I first saw him," Dan continued. "He was… well. Everything I wasn't, I guess desu. Tall and strong and brave and – and a bit of a delinquent, too desu." The smaller boy flushed a bit. "Somehow… He was two years older than I, and when he graduated, I finally managed to gather enough courage to confess."

"And he rejected you." It didn't take a lot of thinking to guess that much, after all. What was somewhat harder to figure out, though, was why Kabaji felt almost compelled to go and seek out whoever this senpai had been.

"Pretty much, yeah." Dan took a lick of his ice cream, still with a somewhat absent look in his eyes. "And he was a bit mean about it – but not as mean as I'd expected him to be desu. At least he didn't seem disgusted or anything and didn't tell me to get away from him desu." Was that a slight smile Kabaji spied on Dan's face? "Anyway, he said I'd find someone else to like – or, like he put it, to obsess over – and maybe the next time I wouldn't be such a coward about confessing so I wouldn't waste my time pining after someone who wasn't interested desu."

"Yes?" Kabaji nodded slowly. "And you're telling me this because?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Now, Dan looked up at him again, a somewhat weak smile on his lips but a smile nonetheless. "I think I like you, Kabaji-san."

For a long time, Kabaji was silent, not knowing what to say. What could one say at such a confession? Well, reject or accept, generally, but what should he do – what did he want to do?

Finally, Dan broke the silence, standing up. "I see. Goodbye, Kabaji-san desu." He was smiling, but the smile looked somewhat strained. With a little bow, he turned around, walking away. It wasn't until now that Kabaji realized it was the first time ever since their second meeting that Dan hadn't asked about seeing him again.

Dan hadn't even finished his ice-cream.

* * *

"I must say, this is quite a surprise." Atobe eyed Kabaji somewhat carefully. "I presumed you preferred not to see me anymore." 

Kabaji blinked. "Whatever made you think so?"

"Well, you didn't contact me until now," Atobe pointed out. "Had you been missing me, you hardly would have waited this long."

Kabaji cocked his head to the side. "Keigo, do think about it," he said calmly. "Ever since we first met, have I ever been the one to contact you?" He hadn't. Atobe had always been the one to lead, the one to call for Kabaji, the one who dictated every aspect of their relationship. Kabaji had never had a problem with this – which also meant he hadn't tried to break the routine. "I assumed you had no need for me anymore."

"Munehiro, what am I to do with you?" A small smile curled Atobe's lips as he shook his head in exasperation. "Friendship shouldn't be a matter of need."

Friendship. It was rare of Atobe to classify their relationship as such, aloud at least. Yet Kabaji supposed it was true – even though they hadn't been in touch for a while now, Atobe was the one he had first contacted when faced with a problem he could not solve by himself. Thankfully, Atobe hadn't seemed too unwilling to meet him. He'd always quite liked giving advice, after all.

"…So. What is the thing that troubles you so much you felt compelled to break your habit of no contact?"

Kabaji looked away momentarily. "I… someone told me they like me."

"Someone confessed their feelings to you?" Atobe eyed him sharply. Kabaji nodded. "I see. And did you reject them?" 

"No, I didn't."

"Oh?" Atobe's eyebrows flew high. "Then, did you return the confession?"

"No, I didn't." Kabaji's voice was confused more than anything.

"…Let me get this straight. Someone confessed their feelings to you, and you said nothing?"

Kabaji nodded slowly. "Usu."

"And what did they do?" Was that a sigh? Why was Atobe sighing?

"They left."

This time it was definitely a sigh that escaped Atobe's lips. "Munehiro, Munehiro, Munehiro," he said. "Clearly the matters of the heart are beyond your scope of understanding."

Someone else might have taken this as an insult, but this was Atobe, and Kabaji, and Kabaji knew all too well that it was true. "Usu."

"I presume you would like to resolve this situation one way or another." Atobe raised his eyebrows. "So… do you like this person?"

"I… am not sure." Kabaji looked helplessly at Atobe. How was he supposed to know? It wasn't like he had ever dealt with such things before.

Yet another sigh. Apparently he was somewhat troubling, himself. "Well. Do you enjoy spending time with them?"

"Usu." That, at least, was very clear. He never felt lonely or sad when Dan-kun was around.

"Excellent. And how would you feel if you never met them again because of this incident?"

Kabaji thought of this. He thought back to the long days he had spent wandering around, before he had met Dan-kun for the first time. He thought of the loneliness, the way there was no one he could talk to. He thought of the way Dan smiled, how he laughed, how they managed to beat almost anyone in doubles as they went to the street courts.

"It would… hurt." And given Dan-kun's reaction… No, better not think about such things.

"Very well." For a moment Atobe eyed him speculatively. Then, Atobe spoke again. "What would you do if this person, say, kissed you?"

Kabaji blinked. Then he blinked again. If Dan-kun kissed him…

Slim arms around his neck, Dan-kun's light form within his arms, those always smiling lips pressed against his…

Now, there was a smirk on Atobe's lips. "I'll take that blush as somewhat clear an answer."

Kabaji ducked his head. "…I guess."

"Great." Atobe leant back in his chair, smirking some more. "Now, here's what you'll do…"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: There's most likely going to be a sequel at some point, but for now, this is it.

* * *

Chance Meetings  


Chapter 4

Atobe was, Kabaji was once again forced to admit, something of a genius. A very self-satisfied and smug genius, granted, but he certainly knew what he was doing. And, most importantly, he was willing to use his genius to aid a friend. Namely, Kabaji himself.

Kabaji would have been the first one to admit he was not very experienced when it came to social relationships. For most of his life Atobe had been practically the only person he ever talked with beyond a few casual words or answering questions in class. Just recently, there had been Dan-kun – and it was obvious he'd already managed to mess up that particular relationship. Clearly, he couldn't do anything right without Atobe's help.

Now, armed with a plan made by Atobe and all the courage he could possibly gather, he still felt quite unsure. Even though it was Atobe's plan, there was still a minimal chance that it could go wrong. And if it went wrong… well, he had no idea what he would do. What he could do.

Dan-kun was sweet and forgiving, right? Surely he would overlook Kabaji's less-than-wise actions. Given his own story he would certainly understand someone else's hesitation… right? Kabaji certainly hoped so.

Fiddling somewhat nervously with his cell phone, he thought of the plan Atobe had come up with. It was quite simple, unlike Atobe's usual schemes – but then, Atobe knew him, both him and his tendency to be rather simple in every sense of the word. Even simply explaining the situation would have been somewhat difficult for him – he wasn't exactly a talker, unlike his friend. The simpler the plan, the better.

Now, if he only dared to go along with it.

Telling himself he had to do this unless he wanted to be alone forever, he slowly dialled a certain number. Raising the phone to his ear, he desperately wished for an answer.

Finally, when he was almost convinced Dan-kun would just ignore his call, he heard a quiet voice from the other end of the line. "…Hi."

"Hello, Dan-kun," Kabaji said, trying his best to sound as normal as possible. "I was wondering whether you would want to join me for an ice cream."

Was that a sob? It sounded like a cough, but it could have also been a disguised sob. Kabaji really wished he'd been as good at reading others as Atobe was. Insight would really come in handy in situations such as this. "I… I'm sorry, Kabaji-san," he finally heard. Dan-kun's voice sounded somewhat strained. "I'm afraid I've fallen somewhat sick and thus can't accompany you."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Kabaji, and he really was – regardless of whether Dan-kun really was sick or not. "Is there anything I can do?"

"…I'm afraid not." Another sob-cough. Oh, this was going worse and worse. "Goodbye, Kabaji-san."

"Wait," Kabaji started, only to realize Dan had already ringed off. For a moment he just stared at his phone, then flipped it shut with a sigh. Apparently it was time for Plan B.

Good thing Atobe had actually taken the time to come up with a Plan B, for otherwise he would have been well and truly screwed, so to speak.

* * *

Somewhat nervous though he was, Kabaji walked down the street. It was close to where he had first met Dan-kun, he noticed – well, it would make sense, wouldn't it? After all, he was heading towards the younger boy's home. 

It was amazing, really, what Atobe Keigo could accomplish with a couple of phone calls. He'd soon found out Dan-kun's address, which Kabaji hadn't known; they'd always just met on the street courts or some other public place. So here Kabaji was, now, walking down an unfamiliar street, more grateful than ever that simply glancing at a map before leaving had ensured he wouldn't get lost. Such a thing just wouldn't do, not now. Not when it was about Dan-kun.

Adjusting the tennis bag on his shoulder – somewhat lighter than usually – he finally stopped in front of a house. It was a nice little house, nothing large or fancy, just a regular house for an average, friendly family with two kids and a dog. The kind of house one would expect someone like Dan-kun to live in.

Gathering his courage, Kabaji walked up to the door.

Ringing the doorbell soon brought an answer. A very kindly smiling woman that he presumed was Dan-kun's mother opened the door, looking somewhat surprised at the unfamiliar, tall boy standing there. Not as surprised as most people would have been, though. Maybe this was where Dan-kun got his personality. "Oh, goodness, how tall you are! I mean, good afternoon!"

"Good afternoon, Dan-san," Kabaji said, bowing. He wasn't used to talking to people other than Atobe and Dan-kun, not even as little as this was, but he reminded himself he had to do it to see Dan-kun. Such a reminder seemed to make his mind much more agreeable. "My name is Kabaji Munehiro. I was hoping that your son might be home."

"Taichi-chan? Oh, yes! He's been home the whole day," Dan-san informed him. "Do come in, do come in! I'm sure he'll be delighted to have a guest!"

Kabaji complied, swallowing at the thought of Dan staying home from school. What had caused it? Surely he hadn't been that upset about Kabaji's lack of reaction… or had he?

"Taichi-chan's room is upstairs, right next to the stairs," Dan-san told him cheerfully. "He's been a little cranky all day but don't mind him, he'll surely cheer up when he sees you."

Kabaji hoped he could have truly believed so. As it was, though, he simply thanked Dan-san before heading to Dan-kun's room.

Knocking on the door, he got no response. Then, after knocking again, he heard a somewhat weary, "What is it?"

"It's me, Dan-kun." Slowly opening the door, Kabaji stepped in. "I'm sorry to intrude."

Dan-kun was sitting on his bed, eyes momentarily widening as he saw Kabaji before he turned his gaze away. "…What do you want?" he asked, quite unlike his usual polite, cheerful self. Although it was already well in the afternoon, Dan-kun was still in his pyjamas, his hair a mess. It was obvious even to Kabaji that he had been crying, too. Seeing this made Kabaji's heart ache. His thoughtlessness had caused all this?

"…To apologize." Kabaji looked seriously at Dan-kun. "I… when you confessed, I was too stunned to say anything. I'm sorry."

"…It's okay desu." Dan-kun certainly didn't sound like it was okay. "At least… at least I didn't waste too much time pining after someone this time around."

Gods. So Dan-kun indeed thought Kabaji didn't like him. How very wrong he was.

Kabaji should have explained, should have told it wasn't so, but the words wouldn't come – when had they ever come, to Kabaji? Not ever. He'd only ever talked with Atobe, before, and with his Insight Atobe had probably guessed more than listened. Kabaji had never needed words – until now. But he didn't have them.

Trying to think of something, he suddenly remembered another one of Atobe's suggestions. Sliding his bag off his shoulder, he opened it, taking out a tennis racquet – for what else could he have bought for Dan? He'd even wrapped it, somewhat awkwardly to his shame; he'd never had the chance to watch someone skilled wrap a present, and a racquet was somewhat difficultly shaped for wrapping.

"….Um. This is for you. It's the same kind Atobe uses, only a bit lighter." He hadn't known which kind of racquet Dan-kun preferred but had figured that as both Atobe and Dan-kun were all-rounders, Atobe's choice of a racquet would fit Dan-kun's needs well enough.

Dan-kun hesitantly took the wrapped racquet, looking at it uncertainly. He still wouldn't look at Kabaji. Then, very slowly, he started unwrapping it, eyes examining each exposed square inch. Finally, setting the wrapping paper beside himself on the bed, he held the racquet in his hands, examining it closely.

"Perfectly balanced," Dan-kun finally whispered, staring at the racquet. "Of course. Nothing less would do for Atobe-san." He turned the racquet, looking at the end. He saw the letter 'D' there. "Kabaji-san…"

"Dan-kun," said Kabaji, then fell into helpless silence. What could he say? What was he supposed to say? He had absolutely no idea.

Fortunately, it was apparently not needed. Dropping the perfectly balanced racquet on his bed, Dan-kun bounced up to his feet, rushing towards Kabaji. Reaching his arms around Kabaji – or as far as they would go, anyway – he hid his face in the Kabaji's chest. A sob shook his little form, prompting Kabaji to hug him close.

Suddenly Dan-kun drew away, just a bit, and then Kabaji found lithe arms around his neck, drawing him down. He complied without resistance, and suddenly there were lips against his, shy and inexperienced and almost wondering, and it was all he had imagined and more. Hands on Dan-kun's waist, sure and strong, he lifted Dan-kun up to his level, easily holding up his light weight. The kiss grew less hesitant in this new position, less awkward now, and Kabaji was sure this was what pure delight tasted like.

As he finally set Dan-kun down, Kabaji smiled somewhat hesitantly at the other boy. "I like you, Dan-kun," he said, unable to think of fancy words but very much meaning what he said.

Dan-kun smiled back, his face streaked with tears but his eyes shining with joy, and said, "I like you, too, Kabaji-san."

Suddenly Kabaji no more felt lonely at all.


End file.
